Happy Birthday - March 8

Happy Birthday to:

Lillie (DAVENPORT) MIDKIFF, who was born on this day 130 years ago in Macon County, Georgia to Seaborn Ludwell DAVENPORT and Nancy JENNINGS. On 16 November 1894 in Arthur, Indian Territory, she married Thomas Oscar MIDKIFF, first cousin of my husband's great-grandfather, John Franklin Midkiff, Sr. Lillie and "Oscar" had 12 children--all of whom survived well into adulthood--and their incredible lives as a hard-working ranch family in West Texas have been documented in Mary Lou Midkiff's Midkiff: A Texas Family, Town and Way of Life. After reading this book, one can only shake one's head at the determination, courage, heartbreak, and endurance that cattle ranching in the west requires, along with the faith and support of an equally-tough ranching wife. A treasure trove of discovered family letters narrates the struggles and triumphs of this woman, her husband, their children, ranch and community. Lillie outlived her husband, dying at the age of nearly 95 on 23 January 1972 in Midland, Midland Co., Texas. She was laid to rest next to her husband two days later at Fairview Cemetery, Midland.